In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue

In a slight diversion from my original plan I have missed Columbus Day this year. I certainly hoped to be in NYC in mid-Oct and this highlights my early over-reliance on the bodyshop and their promises. Caveat Emptor - this whole outsourcing industry and its H1B slave trade arm in particular are a much harsher place than your typical ISV.

Next time you negotiate with such an outlet make sure you take their statements with a grain of salt. In particular, go overboard in writing down every single small detail into your contract, preferably in measurable terms. And one more thing - unless you career has been far from interesting ISVs or you lack experience in dreary web technologies so popular among bodyshops - stay clear of joining a bodyshop locally. In this respect, the smartest guy I saw so far joined the company just two weeks before his relocation.

Well, after those sordid reminders I would like to switch to the main topic. I was eager to be in NYC on this day because I had seen the other side of the very same holiday. Two years ago I worked In Madrid, Spain and I was lucky to witness the celebration there. Naturally, I am quite curious about the differences which must exist between perceptions of the day in those clearly separated cultures. A case in point - the Museum of America in Madrid basically implies 'Museum of South America' although this seems to be quite counter-intuitive to non-Hispanics who understand 'America' as a shorthand for the US or at least North America. I am truly enamored with such discrepancies between cultures sharing common ancestry but evolving separately in the course of time.

Born in the country of vodka and bears I occasionally find myself unaware of small things obvious to real Westerners. My blissful ignorance about a world-wide known festivity resulted in a real surprise on Oct 12, 2004 when I heard distinctive sounds of jet engines directly over the house I lived in.

The next fifteen minutes I was peering into the sky. It turned out that Spaniards not only had an army but also equipped it with quite a few flying assets. A panoply of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft (including a pair of characteristically triangular Eurofighters) flying directly above the house was impressive. And loud.

The terrestrial part of the parade did not disappoint either. In addition to the usual suspects among the marching troops there were apparently foreign guest units from Latin America. Those guys wore different colorful uniforms that looked pretty unusual. The grand finale included the local king driving in an old-fashioned limousine accompanied by horsemen wearing what looked like pre-XX century attire. All in all, that was much more fun that the drab goose-stepping usually demonstrated by the Soviets.

Although I did not expect a lot of comparable military activity on this day in the US - I understand there are more opportunities for this in NYC - nevertheless it is a pity I missed the day this year.